Chapter 22: Bumpkin, Sika Deer

Mountain hunting, though dangerous and arduous, offers the uncertainty of whether one will actually bag any prey!

But there is a true addiction to it, much like fishing; an angler generally doesn't dwell on whether they will catch a fish!

But you have to go fish! Once a fish bites, the rush of pleasure in your heart is irresistible! It’s just like... the way Wang An and Mu Xueqing tossed and turned on the kang!!

As Wang An drove the sled along the mountain path, in reality, there were no roads in the mountains—not even small trails. One simply walked wherever there was open space!

When he was about ten *li* away from the Wild Boar Forest,

Wang An heard the screams of an animal coming from the nearby woods.

By the sound, it seemed to be a deer. Deer run very fast, and there are only a few types of carnivores in these mountains capable of preying on them! All of them are quite valuable!

Thinking this, he felt the pistol in his pocket. Wang An tied his horse to a tree and ran toward the direction of the animal's screams.

A few minutes later, Wang An hid in a snow pit, peeking forward stealthily!

The mountain wind wasn't particularly strong at the moment, and it happened to be a headwind; otherwise, Wang An wouldn't have made it this far!

The noses and ears of mountain predators are mostly more acute than those of professional hunting dogs!

Ahead, he saw a leopard dragging a sika deer with great effort!

The sika deer wasn't dead yet, letting out "chiu-chiu" screams!

It seemed this leopard had miscalculated the massive difference in weight while trying to catch the deer!

The leopard itself wasn't particularly large, usually weighing around 90 or so catties, but this deer—just looking at those large antlers—was clearly an adult male sika deer, weighing at least 200 catties!

Everything on that deer was pure profit!

If the deer were only twenty or thirty catties heavier than the leopard, it might not have been an issue, and the leopard could have dragged it away directly! But in the current situation, trying to drag it away was an awkward struggle!

In these deep mountains, as long as a "Big Claw" (bear) doesn't show up, a leopard is already a top-tier predator.

Aside from black bears and large brown bears, there are essentially no rivals!

However, leopards are naturally wary; although they are formidable, they are quite timid!

These creatures are generally nocturnal; the chances of seeing one during the day are extremely slim!

It was currently around 7:00 or 8:00 in the morning! From his previous life until now, Wang An had only ever seen a single leopard skin!

To see a live leopard was truly incredibly lucky!

These creatures might be more numerous than "Big Claws,"

But seeing one is still exceptionally difficult!

One hears plenty of stories about lynxes every year, or sees dozens of pelts stacked together at the supply and marketing cooperative.

While sable is also hard to hunt, their numbers are quite significant now, and one often hears about which hunter managed to snag a large pelt!

But for years, no one had ever heard of anyone hunting a leopard!

There were never any reports of the supply and marketing cooperative receiving a leopard skin!

Even those who claimed to have seen one were extremely rare, and one never knew if they were telling the truth.

Because some claimed to have seen a leopard weighing 200 catties! But even the largest male leopards struggle to reach 100 catties!!!

The leopard was currently about 300 meters away from Wang An. He wasn't confident enough to fire from there, yet he didn't dare get too close!

He had heard people chatting that if there is even the slightest movement, these things vanish!

Hunting one would likely only allow for a single shot! They run too fast!

Wang An aimed his gun, but it felt insufficient; he needed to get closer. If it heard him or smelled him and ran, then it was gone!

He rose slowly, approaching like a bird, and after walking for four or five minutes, he reached a distance of about 200 meters from the leopard!

He didn't dare move forward any further. Peeking out, he saw that the leopard, perhaps realizing it couldn't drag the large buck away, had settled in to eat!

He brought the gun to his face, aiming carefully at the head!

At a distance of 200 meters, it wasn't close at all; the leopard looked no larger than a large goose!

Wang An had never been this cautious when firing. Primarily, the pelt was too valuable!

At the supply and marketing cooperative, Wang An remembered clearly that a single leopard skin started at 1,200 yuan! He estimated that in a few years, it would be several thousand, perhaps even breaking ten thousand!!

He took a deep breath and held it. Just as he was about to pull the trigger, the creature lifted its head to scan its surroundings!

He adjusted his stance and continued waiting for the right moment!

Just as his finger was about to squeeze the trigger, it lifted its head to look left and right again!

It was eating, but it was looking everywhere! It was scanning every damn direction!!

This cycle repeated over and over!

To ensure he could fire flexibly, Wang An had taken his hands out of his mittens. This turned out to be a mistake; his hands were freezing numb!

Dammit! This thing has absolutely no sense of being steady!

Finally, after about ten minutes, Wang An caught his golden opportunity!

The deer seemed to be dead! The leopard had pulled out the deer's intestines and was playing tug-of-war with them!

Two "bang-bang" shots rang out, and the leopard collapsed on the spot without even a reaction!

I caught a leopard! I actually caught a leopard! Wang An was instantly overcome with wild joy!

That sense of successful exhilaration was almost equal to that final burst when he was with Mu Xueqing!

This was something only a true marksman could achieve!

And Wang An wasn't even much of a hunter; he was a half-baked hunter who relied solely on his marksmanship.

Yet he had actually caught a leopard—something hunters hadn't managed to catch for years!!

It must be said, luck is absolutely a part of skill!!

Running forward with joy and excitement, he looked at the exceptionally beautiful leopard skin. It was truly a sight to behold, with golden-shimmering fur dotted with black spots the size of coins!

Once this pelt was tanned and made into a coat for Mu Xueqing to wear—stripping away all other clothes and leaving her in only this leopard coat! Wow... how sexy would that be!!... This is something that must be researched!!

The leopard had only been hit once in the head, near the eye.

The second shot, judging by the mark, had grazed the nose and hit the ground!

It couldn't be called luck; he had been hesitating and stalling for so long before he could fire.

Wang An lay in the snow for nearly twenty minutes! Mainly because his hands had suffered terribly; now that he relaxed, his fingertips felt a piercing pain!

If not for this "lucky intestine," it was anyone's guess whether he would have hit it!

He stabbed his knife into the leopard's neck and the sika deer's neck to bleed them. The deer was completely dead, so he bled it as much as possible!

Deer blood is actually a very good thing; deer blood wine is highly nutritious! Unfortunately, he had no vessels on hand! What a pity!!

However, this large deer penis—perhaps because the leopard didn't like it—had been perfectly preserved! Not bad! Not bad! Hahaha!

He cut the penis out completely. There was no velvet; at this season, there were only antlers—hard as rock!

But if he attached the antlers to the skull, it would surely make a beautiful ornament!!

There was no way he was gutting it in this freezing weather!!

Looking at the leopard he had shot and the sika deer he had scavenged!

This little feeling of happiness was exactly the same as holding the naked Mu Xueqing after they had finished! So comfortable!!

He turned to go back to the sled. After a brief period of agitation, the big horse was no longer afraid of the leopard's corpse!!

Normally, horses, mules, or oxen would become agitated and wouldn't dare even approach if they smelled the scent of a "Big Claw," a leopard, a wolf, or a lynx!

But this big horse was incredibly impressive! Right, he still hadn't looked at that letter of introduction!

There were six letters of introduction. There weren't many words, but he didn't know if they belonged to those four people, or if the people on these six letters were all dead!

Regardless, the meaning of the letters was that this horse belonged to a certain horse farm in Inner Mongolia!

Recalling the few memories he had from his previous life before entering the fenced area, the horses from that farm seemed to be specially bred warhorses!!

Holy crap! This horse is incredible; it's no ordinary horse! But why are there no markings on it??

Thinking about those two horses that had vanished in a flash—such incredible horses! It was heartbreaking, agonizing, and painful!!

To those with coupons! Please, spare me one!!!

Any kind of coupon will do!! My respects, my respects!!

(End of Chapter)